Monthly Archives: February 2019

RIO DE JANEIRO — Irish cyclist Nicolas Roche says he developed a serious case of bacterial pneumonia while in Brazil to compete in the Olympic road race and will be forced to miss the Vuelta a Espana.

Roche suggested on 桑拿会所 that he may have gotten sick from a “bad aircon in Rio,” though he did not say how he knew that it was caused by air conditioning, nor did he specify whether it was from a unit in the Olympic village.

READ MORE: Team Canada cyclists win bronze in women’s team pursuit

“Riding the Vuelta was a big target for me this year and I was looking forward to being part of the team,” Roche said. “The illness couldn’t have come at a worse time, really, and after speaking to the medical staff, it’s pretty clear that I’m not going to be ready in time.”

Roche competed in the road race in support of countryman Dan Martin on the first full day of competition at the Rio Games. He finished 29th after dropping a chain on the base of the final climb.

His trade team, Team Sky, confirmed Roche will miss the Vuelta a Espana due to the illness.

READ MORE: Rio 2016: Best athlete game faces of the Olympics

The potential for illness has been a major concern in Rio, though mostly because of the Zika virus and issues with water quality.

The Vuelta a Espana is the third of cycling’s three Grand Tours, following the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France. And it was the one Roche has been targeting most of the season, building toward not only the Olympics but also the mountainous race in Spain.

I hope to be ready to race again early september. Still some racing to be done this year

— nicholas roche (@nicholasroche) August 12, 2016

Roche said he was “gutted” to miss the race, which begins with a team time trial Aug. 20. Doctors have prescribed eight full days of rest before Roche can get back on a bike.

He hopes to be able to compete again before the end of the season.

“Obviously it’s a big disappointment. The Vuelta is a race I really enjoy and one where I have had success before,” he said. “I’ll be focusing on my recovery and getting back as soon as I can.”

Revellers were then invited to dance the afternoon away at the traditional Mega T-Dance Party at Parc Emilie-Gamelin.

A sea of green flooded the streets, as hundreds of floats, representing this year’s theme, “Our Flag, Our Nature: GREEN,” made their way along the designated route.

The colour green, represents not only the environment but the rich and diverse nature of LGBTQ individuals.

Organizers say it’s the first time a PM walks in #FierteMTL parade pic.twitter长沙桑拿/9ihxIZFrzR

— Gloria Henriquez (@GloriaMTL) August 14, 2016

Both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec premier, Philippe Couillard were among the dignitaries in attendance, with Trudeau sporting a green shirt at a press conference held ahead of the celebrations.

BERLIN (AP) — The man who attacked passengers on a crowded Swiss train with a knife and burning liquid died of his wounds Sunday, as did one of his victims, a 34-year-old woman, Swiss police said. Three others remain hospitalized with serious wounds.

Police are still searching for a motive but said there’s no indication the suspect, identified only as a 27-year-old Swiss man from a neighboring region, had ties to extremist groups.

A 43-year-old woman, a 6-year-old girl and 17-year-old girl remained hospitalized Sunday with serious injuries, one in critical condition, St. Gallen canton (state) police spokesman Hans-Peter Kruesi told The Associated Press. A 17-year-old youth and 50-year-old man wounded in the attack have been treated and released, he said.

READ MORE: Swiss police report stabbings, fire on train; suspect held

Kruesi said all the victims lived in the St. Gallen canton.

Swiss police searched the suspect’s home after the Saturday afternoon attack on the train as it neared the station in Salez, close to the Liechtenstein border. Kruesi would not comment on what evidence was seized at the home, but said “so far there are no indications this was a terrorist or politically motivated crime.”

Police were not able to question the suspect before he died, Kruesi said, adding that the man had no criminal record and was not previously known to police.

According to a video of the attack evaluated by police, the assailant acted alone, attacking passengers on the train between Buchs and Sennwald with a knife and then burning liquid, which is now being analyzed by a police forensics team.

The train driver was being credited with quick thinking, continuing into the Salez station before stopping, a move that allowed police and rescue crews to get on board easier.

Five passengers on the train were wounded in the attack and a sixth person on the train platform, the 50-year-old man, was wounded as he pulled the burning suspect off the train, police said. The 50-year-old was treated for smoke inhalation and burns, Kruesi said.

The Swiss train attack again illustrates how difficult it is for authorities to protect the continent’s labyrinthine transport system, particularly against individuals wielding unsophisticated weapons.

Last month in neighboring Germany, a 17-year-old refugee from Afghanistan used an ax and a knife to wound four tourists on a train, and stabbed a woman as he fled. The attacker was shot and killed by police. All his victims survived.

In May at a train station in the German state of Bavaria, a 27-year-old German man who had been in psychiatric care stabbed commuters, killing one and wounding three others before being apprehended by police.

Last year, a heavily armed gunman opened fire on a high-speed Amsterdam to Paris train but was overpowered by two young American servicemen and their companion.

VICTORIA – Andrew Meyer says he’s chasing the future as he travels the world competing in drone racing events in what is one of the world’s newest competitions.

The 26-year-old university student from Port Alberni, B.C., is known in drone flying circles as Andrew “MayMayDay” Meyer.

He’s essentially grounded his education to fly drones at races in Canada, the United States, Dubai and South Korea, he said via Facebook on Friday from a highway rest stop near Seoul.

Meyer was one of 15 international drone racers invited to South Korea’s Chuncheon Drone Race World Cup last weekend. About 100 South Koreans also entered in the event at the 20,000-seat Chuncheon city stadium.

He recently placed 10th at the 2016 U.S. National Drone Racing Championships in New York City and is entered in the Drone World Championship in Hawaii in October. He was a top competitor at Canada’s Drone Nationals last year at Collingwood, Ont.

“I love trying new things,” said Meyer who has done his share of bungee jumps and sky dives in the past. “The freedom of flight has always been interesting to me.”

Drone racing started about four years ago, but it’s only been in recent months where it’s started to rise to prominence globally, with U.S. sports channel ESPN livestreaming the American nationals earlier this month and the World Drone Prix in Dubai offering $1 million in prizes.

It’s all part of the fast-growing world of drone racing, where participants don goggles that are linked to the drone’s camera, giving them a live, first-person view as they weave their small aircraft around a race course at top speeds.

“Anyone can put on goggles and feel exactly what the pilot’s feeling,” said Meyer. “You and thousands of people can be racing around the course through your drone. I think of drone racing as the better version of Formula One car racing.”

He said racing drones takes more control skills than the everyday drones people use to explore their surroundings. Race drones are operated by successfully manipulating two joysticks that control speed and direction.

Most races involve about 10 drones that whiz through on-the-ground obstacle courses of sorts at speeds of more than 100 kilometres an hour. The winners are usually either the pilots who complete the most laps in a set time or the ones with the fastest three consecutive laps.

Meyer said he’s hooked on drone racing and at the moment his quest for his master’s degree in biomedical engineering is running a distance second in his life.

“When I started my master’s at the University of British Columbia the drone racing was only starting to get big,” he said. “It was just a hobby for me. It’s a fine balance now between my master’s and the drone world. Fortunately, my professor is very understanding of what I’m doing with drones.”

Meyer said his university studies involve working with robotics to improve the accuracy of mobile X-ray machines used in orthopedic surgery.

MILWAUKEE – Simmering anger over the fatal shooting of a man by police erupted in violence on Milwaukee’s north side, with protesters skirmishing with officers over several hours and setting fire to at least four businesses in an outburst the mayor says was fed by social media.

The uprising that broke out Saturday evening didn’t subside until after midnight, after Mayor Tom Barrett and other city leaders appeared at a news conference to plead for calm. Police said three people were arrested, and one officer was hurt by a brick thrown into a squad car.

READ MORE: Shooting into church van wounds 5 in Joplin, Missouri

The triggering event came Saturday afternoon, when a man fleeing police after a traffic stop was shot and killed. Police said the man was armed, but it wasn’t clear whether he was pointing the gun or aiming it at officers. Barrett said the man was hit twice, in the chest and arm. Neither his race nor the officer’s was immediately released, nor were they identified.

The shooting was being investigated by the state. The officer was wearing a body camera, Barrett said.

The mayor said the uprising was driven by social media messages instructing people to congregate in the area.

“We have to have calm,” Barrett said at the news conference. “There are a lot of really good people who live in this neighbourhood.”

Milwaukee Common Council President Ashanti Hamilton echoed Barrett’s plea for help restoring order.

“We understand the frustration people feel with the police community nationally. … We have to go through the process of finding justice, but we have to be able to restore order to these neighbourhoods,” Hamilton said. “Please participate in restoring order to these neighbourhoods.”

Alderman Khalif Rainey, who represents the district where the violence occurred, said the city’s black residents are “tired of living under this oppression.” He said he didn’t justify the violence “but nobody can deny that there are racial problems here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that have to be rectified.”

WATCH: Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett discusses a police involved shooting and violence that took place afterward as a gas station was set on fire along with several police vehicles.

Barrett said the 23-year-old man who died was stopped by police for “suspicious activity.” Police said earlier that he was carrying a gun that had been stolen in a March burglary in suburban Waukesha.

“This stop took place because two officers … saw suspicious activity,” the mayor said. “There were 23 rounds in that gun that that officer was staring at. I want to make sure we don’t lose any police officers in this community, either.”

As many as 100 protesters massed at 44th Street and Auer Avenue between 8 and 9 p.m., surging against a line of 20 to 30 officers. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that officers got in their cars to leave at one point and some in the crowd started smashing a squad car’s windows. Another police car was set on fire. The newspaper reported that one of its reporters was shoved to the ground and punched.

Around 11 p.m., police with shields and helmets moved slowly into the intersection, telling a crowd of about 50 people to disperse. Some threw rocks and other debris at police, who held up their shields. People in the crowd also threw objects at a business a half-block from the intersection. A nearby traffic light was bent over and bus shelters overturned.

The businesses that burned included a BMO Harris bank branch, a BP gas station, an O’Reilly Auto Parts store and a beauty supply store. Firefighters held back from the gas station blaze because of gunshots.

Police said the man who was shot had an arrest record. The 24-year-old officer who shot the man has been placed on administrative duty. The officer has been with the Milwaukee department six years, three as an officer.

The shooting occurred just a few blocks from two fatal shootings Friday and Saturday, part of a violent stretch in the city in which five people died in shootings during a nine-hour stretch. Assistant Chief Bill Jessup alluded to the violence in discussing the fatal shooting.

“As everyone knows, this was a very, very violent 24 hours in the city of Milwaukee,” Jessup told the Journal Sentinel. “Our officers are out here taking risks on behalf of the community and making split-second decisions.”